When I was little I hated spinach. Or at least I thought so. Now, when I think about I didn’t really have a reason to hate it, because I can’t remember trying it in a first place (brussels sprouts on the other hand are completely different story). Much later in my life, my now husband, served me a plate full of this green stuff during one of our dates. Of course I ate it trying to put a brave face and appreciate his cooking. Side note – at that time his specialty was chicken cutlet with (plain) rice, so appreciating some variety seemed like a must. After that I tried to forget about spinach until I left for Spain. If you’ve never been to Spain I strongly encourage you to go. Food is amazing there and I would argue that it tastes differently. Maybe it is because of the tons of olive oil they put into each dish, I don’t know. It doesn’t matter as long as I can enjoy it.
So living in Spain involved trying and learning some of the local dishes and surprisingly spinach plays quite a role there. Creamed spinach, spinach with raisins and garlic, croquettes with spinach – I fell in love with every single spinach dish there. Lesson for me: keep trying new things and old things.
This particular recipe is not from Spain though, but it was adapted from Joy of Cooking. However think about it as a plane canvas and paint whatever is on your mind. You can add just splash of milk or cream, add more or less onions, garlic. Mushrooms go very well with spinach as well. Ham or bacon if you would like some meat. You can make pasta sauce from it (as I did it here). Opportunities are endless, so don’t let cafeteria experience define the faith of spinach in your life 🙂
Ingredients:
- 23 oz spinach (before washing and trimming – ~12 oz. after trimming)
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup milk OR cream*
- 1 medium onion
- 3 medium garlic cloves
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
*Amount of milk depends on your preferences. About 3/4 of milk was added to the spinach showed at the pictures, and although it was very creamy and tasty, I prefer version with less liquid.
Instructions:
- Wash and trim spinach. Pat dry.
- Chop it roughly and set aside.
- Slice onion.
- Mince garlic.
- Mix milk, butter, spices, garlic and onion in a heavy skillet.
- Start heating up on low.
- Add spinach, mix well with the rest of ingredients.
- Increase the heat to medium low and cook it until the mixture bubbles, ~5 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Enjoy!
Yield: 4 servings
Nutritional Info: Cal 139, Prot 5g, Carb 11g, Fat 10g, Fiber 2.4g
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